


Shelter

by Oliver__Niko



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (only the aftermath is written out), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assault, Hate Crimes, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Questioning Sylvain Jose Gautier, Trans Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:39:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27632864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: “Sorry for turning up so suddenly.”If Sylvain’s voice is frail, Felix’s own is even more so; somehow, that fragility snaps Sylvain out of his trance. His protectiveness is quick to take over instead.“No, you don’t—please, come in.” He ensures not to touch Felix when holding an arm behind him, guiding him to the door. Sylvain tries to avoid staring at the injuries on Felix’s face. Not that Felix would notice, when his eyes are on the floor. “What happened to you?”“A date.” A whisper by now. “A date is what happened.”--Felix doesn't tell his date that he is transgender beforehand, and Sylvain is the first person he turns to when it all goes wrong.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 15
Kudos: 99





	Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> So alongside something nicer art-wise, I also wanted to write something a little more on the heavier side for Transgender Awareness Week. Please bear the tags in mind! As I said, this fic doesn't describe the assault in detail, and goes by Sylvain's perspective, but it of course still presents the topic of transphobic violence.

Sometimes, in order to understand why someone’s life is lived in fear, it can take something drastic to occur. It takes time to understand how far those heights of oppression reach, and how dangerous it can be to do the simplest of things. Sylvain knows. He always makes sure he knows, because even if he struggles to understand where _he_ personally stands on the spectrum of identity, he wants to at least support others.

But words read on the Internet aren’t quite the same. Hearing stories—horrific, _terrifying_ stories—causes his stomach to churn. Learning statistics, facts, leaves him with a heavy heart and desperate wish to be able to do more.

When only witnessing it through a screen, however, it’s easy to become … He wouldn’t say desensitised. Perhaps it simply seems all the more cruel, personal, when it happens to someone close to you.

Sylvain doesn’t brace himself when he hears a knock on the front door. _Of course_ he doesn’t think this is necessary. He opens the door with a smile, mouth open to greet the person on the other side, and his words are snatched away when his eyes land on the man in front of him. The man who bears a swollen cheek, bruised eye and a busted lip.

“Felix?” The name comes out weak, uncertain, as though this image in front of him is only an illusion.

“Sorry for turning up so suddenly.”

If Sylvain’s voice is frail, Felix’s own is even more so; somehow, that fragility snaps Sylvain out of his trance. His protectiveness is quick to take over instead.

“No, you don’t—please, come in.” He ensures not to touch Felix when holding an arm behind him, guiding him to the door. Sylvain tries to avoid staring at the injuries on Felix’s face. Not that Felix would notice, when his eyes are on the floor. “What happened to you?”

“A date.” A whisper by now. “A date is what happened.”

In an instant, Sylvain’s blood runs cold. “Oh, Felix. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, then you can tell me what happened. Okay?” There isn’t an answer, only the material of Felix’s coat creasing between his fingers, so Sylvain adds, in a voice that is gentler, “Only if you want to, though. No pressure.”

Felix nods. He shrugs off his coat, handing it to Sylvain. The latter’s heart sinks when he notices the drops of blood on Felix’s jumper. He doesn’t remove his shoes like he usually does, knowing Sylvain doesn’t like them being worn in the house, but he of course isn’t going to lecture Felix on that during a time like this. He guides him into the living room, prompting him to sit down on the sofa.

“I’ll be back in just a moment,” says Sylvain. He points to a glass of water on the coffee table. “Have a couple of sips of that, okay?”

Felix nods, taking the glass into his hand. The last thing Sylvain wants to do is leave him when he is like this, but he can at least hurry. He first heads into his bedroom, grabbing a spare, thin blanket. The bathroom follows this. He gathers a damp washcloth, dry towel and a first aid kit.

When he returns to the living room, Felix has barely moved, only to place the glass down on the table. His eyes flicker around, fingers fidgeting, and every motion breaks Sylvain’s heart. It’s been a long time since he’s seen Felix this way—anxiety attacks have usually been the cause.

“Can I come a bit closer to you?” asks Sylvain. When Felix nods, Sylvain flaps the blanket in the air, bringing it around Felix’s shoulders. After this, Sylvain settles down on the sofa by his side. “Okay, so I want to wash the blood off your face.”

“All right.” Felix’s voice is monotone, but Sylvain doesn’t trust that he’s honest about being comfortable.

“That’d involve touching you.”

“Obviously it would.” Felix exhales, bringing his eyes to Sylvain’s a moment. “It’s fine,” he says, voice a little softer. “I mean, it’s you.”

Despite everything, Sylvain manages a smile. He takes hold of the cloth, carefully easing Felix’s face up by his chin. Felix flinches slightly, but soon relaxes again, eyes closing as the cloth is dabbed over the blood on his face.

Silently, Sylvain cleans those injuries. They look far better without the dried blood, but even so … The swelling of that cheek, the bruise—they cause a twisting sensation in Sylvain’s gut, knowing enough even without being told the full story.

He applies some disinfectant to Felix’s face, warning him of the sting, and dries droplets of water with the towel. “All done,” he says when he is finished, placing everything away. He pulls the blanket around Felix a little more, crossing each side over in front of him.

“Thank you.” Felix’s tongue runs around his lips, wincing when it reaches the cut on there. “I didn’t want to go home like this. Father would have freaked out.”

“I mean, I freaked out a bit, too.” Sylvain eyes flicker over the bruise again, and he has to ask, “You said this was from your date?”

“Mm.”

“So—”

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking of, I imagine.” Felix’s eyes cast down on his lap. “I—I usually make sure to tell guys I’m trans, before going on dates with them. If I’m going to get any verbal abuse, at least have it be by message, huh?”

“And you didn’t, this time?” Sylvain’s hand wanders over Felix’s knee, stroking gently. The latter shakes his head.

“I thought he was nice, and I was scared of ruining anything, I guess. And I reckoned he wouldn’t be the type of person who would flip out on a date, if I told him there instead. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“So he attacked you? The moment you told him you’re trans?”

Felix’s nod causes fury to brim inside Sylvain. “He took time trying to process it. Before I knew it, he got angry, saying I was some straight girl trying to trick him. I argued back, we were both on our feet, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor.” Felix’s jaw visibly clenches, eyes cast down again. “I felt so damn _weak,_ and I still do. I didn’t even try to fight back, even though I had every ability to.”

“That doesn’t make you weak, Felix.” Sylvain squeezes his knee. “That’s a terrifying situation to be in, I’m sure. You naturally weren’t prepared for that, so you must have just … froze. What happened after? Did you call the police?”

“Goddess, no. Definitely not. The staff wanted to, but I just ran out of the restaurant. Then I came here. I didn’t—I didn’t know where else to go, after that.”

“I’m glad you came to me. Truly.”

“Well, I trust you. And I needed someone I can trust.” Felix exhales a breath, one he seems like he was holding, and there is a pained expression on his face. “I think that hurts the most—the whole trusting thing. When you’re in the same community as someone, you’d hope for them to accept you, right? And on the whole, gay people _are_ better than straight people with it. But there are still some who don’t think we should belong in the community at all.”

“Even though your community fought for the rights you have now.”

Felix hums. “Ungrateful bastards, aren’t they?” To which Sylvain lets out a chuckle, and Felix cracks a small, brief smile. “It hurts. It feels like betrayal. Obviously it’d be horrible to be attacked by a straight guy, too. But I think it stings a bit more when it’s someone who’s gay.”

“It’s someone you would expect to accept you. I understand.” Sylvain is careful when bringing his fingers to Felix’s shoulder, stroking over it gently. “Can I hug you?”

“If you must.”

A fleeting smile, brief yet reassuring, appears on Felix’s face; Sylvain scoots closer, wrapping an arm around Felix’s shoulders. Though the latter doesn’t bring an arm around Sylvain in return, he does at least come closer.

“I suppose I also thought it wouldn’t happen to _me,”_ Felix continues. “I hear stories, of course. But I thought I was always careful enough, took the steps needed. I usually tell people I’m trans before seeing them, I didn’t go to the bathroom until I stopped getting misgendered. I thought I was fine, and the one time I slipped up … Guess I’m just unlucky.”

“And the guy was an absolute bastard. If I was there—” Sylvain lets out a breath, stopping himself from going on a furious rant. “You do know it’s not your fault, don’t you?”

“I mean, I should have told him before we met up. That was on me.”

“No, it’s not you. It’s how you have to make all these steps, to do something most others take for granted.” Sylvain brings Felix slightly closer, his brow furrowing. “I can’t ever imagine reacting in a way like that.”

“Well, it could have been worse, at least. Much worse.” Felix, finally feeling slightly less tense than before, kicks his shoes off with the words, “Sorry about those. I forgot.”

“I think you had much bigger things on your mind, than just some shoes.”

Now said shoes are on the floor, Felix lifts his legs to curl up to Sylvain on the sofa. The latter’s heart skips a beat, just a little, as Felix’s head leans on his shoulder. Nothing unusual, not for close childhood friends. But it’s felt different lately.

“If only more people were like you,” says Felix. “Hell, annoying attitude aside, you’d be far better to date. Too bad you’re straight.”

The words seem to be mostly a joke, but there is something in them, the way Felix comes a little closer, which tells Sylvain it’s not one completely. “Yeah. I’d date you in a heartbeat.” He misses out on the _if I was bi_ add-on this time, no longer certain whether or not the word ‘if’ applies, anymore. All he really understands is that he enjoys the feel of Felix close to his side, and the knowledge that Felix feels safe with him.

“But you know, we’re friends. And friends can have dates.” Sylvain grins, looking down at the eyes peeking up at him curiously. “So how about _I_ take you out sometime, maybe to that grill place you love? I think you deserve it after all this.”

Felix hums, breaking eye contact, although by now, his smile is wide enough to wince from the injury on his face. “I also deserve a free meal.”

“You do, don’t you? Then I suppose my wallet is yours.”

“Sweet.” Felix’s legs are brought closer to himself, eyes closing with his head relaxing further against Sylvain. “Might be a bit hard to go out after this, though. But I should be fine, as long as it’s not that restaurant.”

“And even if it’s _not_ fine, we can still do something back here.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” A pause, before Felix says, slightly quieter, “Thank you, Sylvain. For all of this. I’m not sure what I would have done without you.”

“It’s nothing you have to thank me for. I’m here for you.”

In the past when they grew up together, best friends for as long as they can remember; in this moment, as Sylvain wraps both arms around him with a smile; and in the future, despite how the details of that are slightly unclear.

But only for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you'd like to see my art and me chat about FE3H (especially Sylvix), feel free to come find me on Twitter @nikobynight.


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